Better outcomes for at-risk students

Charles Sturt University provides exceptional support to students from disadvantaged backgrounds who are at an increased risk of dropping out. The university’s specialist retention team uses learning analytics to identify disengaged students and target those at risk of disengagement. Once identified, these students receive assessment support through an Embedded Tutor Program.

In 2023, Sarah Teakel, Kelly Linden, Neil van der Ploeg and Noelia Roman from the retention team published their research on the success of the Embedded Tutor Program in the journal Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education. In the program, tutors with unit-specific knowledge were embedded in 98 first-year subjects across the university. Among the 1,080 students who met with a tutor, assessment marks were, on average, eight per cent higher, and cumulative unit marks were 15 per cent higher.

The study also demonstrated that students with multiple equity factors benefitted the most from the program.

In recognition of the team’s success, in 2023 they received an Australian Award for University Teaching (AAUT) for programs that enhance learning and support diversity and inclusive practice.